Medicinal Plants Targeting Cardiovascular Diseases in View of Avicenna

Home / Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 23, Number 17 Authors: Sobhani, Zahra; Reza Nami, Saeed; Ahmad Emami, Seyed; Sahebkar, Amirhossein; Javadi, Behjat Source: Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 23, Number 17, May 2017, pp. 2428-2443(16) Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612823666170215104101 Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a spectrum of diseases involving the heart and blood vessels, and the first cause of mortality worldwide. Medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years to treat CVD. In Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM), there is a special focus on heart diseases. Avicenna, a Persian physician of the eleventh century compiled a book devoted to this field named “The treatise on cardiac drugs” which is a compendium of TPM knowledge on CVD. Avicenna mentioned 50 cardiovascular active plants and described their therapeutic effects in the treatment of CVDs. Methods: Here, we perform a detailed search in scientific databases to verify the cardiovascular activities of the medicinal plants suggested by Avicenna. Also, we discussed cardiovascular activities of a number of the most important suggested plants as well as their efficacy in clinical studies. Major bioactive compounds identified from these plants are also discussed. Results: Pharmacological studies have revealed that the majority of these plants are effective in cardiovascular health with various mechanisms. Among them, Crocus sativus L., Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J. Presl, Punica granatum L., Ocimum basilicum L., Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton, Melissa officinalis L. and Phyllanthus emblica L. have proved to be more effective. Conclusion: The above-mentioned plants can be rich sources for developing new and effective pharmaceuticals for the treatment of CVDs. Keywords: Curcumin; adhesion molecules; avicenna; cardiovascular diseases; endothelial function; flow-mediated vasodilation; medicinal plants; nitroglycerin-mediated dilation; pomegranate; pulse wave velocity; saffron; traditional persian medicine Document Type: Research Article Publication date: May 1, 2017 More about this publication?